Art and Printing Specifications

We recognize that customers may have artwork already created or may wish to take advantage of our free in-house design capability for your custom printed magnets. Finished artwork can be submitted via the form found on this page.

The following is the “fine print” for those creating your own artwork:

ELECTRONIC ARTWORK

Artwork should be created with the following software:

• Quark Express
• Pagemaker
• Freehand
• Illustrator
• Photoshop

PROOFS

Once you are satisfied with the artwork we create, or following submission of your finished artwork, we will email you a proof copy for your review to assure a correct final product.

GENERAL MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES:

Design or Copy should not be closer than:

• 1/8″ from edge of your design
• 1/8″ from holes, slots, scores, etc.
• 1/16″ from signature panels or embossed areas
• 1/8″ from all sides of magnetic stripe
• 1/8″ from all sides of thermal imaging (barcode, PIN numbers, etc.)

For scanning purposes, most barcodes need a white ‘Silent Area’ before and after the printed image. The size of this area is to be determined by customer.

Bleed Edges: Artwork for bleed edges must extend a minimum of 1/8″ beyond the cut lines.

Screen Tints and/or Halftones: All line screens to be provided as 100% size negative, right reading,emulsion side down. Standard line screens for offset printing are 133 lines per inch (lpi) (150 lpi O.K. for short run, surface offset printing – call factory for details). Standard line screens for screen printing are 85 lpi. Large line screened areas, graduated line screens, and highly detailed line screens are difficult to reproduce with screen printing. Surface offset or laminated offset printing is recommended for best results.

Trapping: For bumper sticker, decal and label printing, a minimum of .25 – .50 point trap should be allowed.

Typeset Copy: For best results, fonts should NOT be smaller than 5 pt. Also, serif and script type fonts are difficult to reproduce, especially as reverse copy.

Sequential  Numbering, Variable Data, Barcodes: Variable data printing including bar codes, sequential serial numbers etc. is available in any color. This type of printing may require an Excel spreadsheet.

Alphanumeric Numbering: Black numbering is available with letters for use as prefixes and suffixes. Examples include:

“A1234″ or  ” 1234 MAIN STREET LOT “

Variable Data: Variable data is available for things such as phone numbers and locations. Please send us  an Excel spreadsheet containing your data.

Barcoding: Barcodes are available as constant, variable, or consecutive, in either Code 128 or Code 39. if we are printing barcodes with variable numbers please send an Excel Spreadsheet. As noted above, for scanning purposes, most barcodes need a white ‘Silent Area’ before and after the printed image. The size of this area is determined by your bar code reading equipment. Please consult your manufacturer.